Rotary gas-engine.



C. J. CLARK.

AROITARY GAS ENGINE. APPLICATION FILED v5.17, 1914.

Patented om.. 5, 1915.

4 SHEETS-SHEET ll www4,

C. J. CLARK.

ROTARY GAS ENGINE. `A APPLICATION min 111111.11. 1914.

La l l C. J. CLARK.

` ROTARY GAS ENGINE.

Patented oct. 5,1915.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3 C. J. CLARK. R

RTARY GAS ENGINE.

AfPLlcATloN FILED APR. 117. 1914.

1,155,794. Patented oet. 5, 1915.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

CHARLES J'. CLARK, 0F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIG-NOR OF ONE-HALF TO JAMES B. DIBELKA, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS. i

ROTARY GAs-nNGiNE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 5, 1915.

Application filed April 17, 1914. Serial No. 832,513.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, CHARLES J. CLARK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, county of Cook, and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rotary Cras-Engines, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to rotary internal combustion engines of the type disclosed in my priorapplication, Serial No. 758,377, filed April 2nd, 1913. The engine specifically disclosed in that application is provided with an outer cylinder joined to a hub at its center by a radial vane and having a second cylinder eccentrically arranged within the first and surrounding the hub so as to bear at one side against the outside of the hub and at the other side against the inside of the outer cylinder, the inner cylinder being slotted to allow for the passage of the. vane. In this construction the fuel charge is compressed in one of the cylinders by the rotation of the vane and is then conducted to the other cylinder at the rear of the vane. where it is fired.

One of the features of the present invene,

tion consists of a new arrangement of parts for maintaining and sustaining the inner cylinder in position.

Another feature resides in a simplified arrangement of ports and passages b v which the fuel charges are conducted to the compressing cylinder and then from the latter to the other cylinder, where they are fired.

Other features of the invention will also be brought out in the following detailed description.

The present invention 'also possesses the several advantages of the constructions and.

arrangements set forth in my prior application.

A full understanding of the invention will be more readily had upon reference to the following detaileddescription taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, and the scope of the invention will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings'Figure l is an end elevation. viewed from ,the left in Fig. 3, of a rotary engine constructed in accordance with the present invention, the spindle upon which the rotary parts are mounted being shown in section; Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the same viewed from the right in Fig.

3; Fig. V3 isa vertical longitudinal section of the engine taken on a plane indicated by the line 3--3 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a horizontal longitudinal section of the engine taken on a' plane indicated by the line 4-l of Fig. 1; Figs. 5, 6 and 7 are transverse vertical sections taken' on planes indicated by the line 5-5, 6-.6 and 7-7, respectively, of Fig. 3;

Fig. 8 is' a detailed sectional view of one of the control valves taken on a plane indicated by the line 8 8' of Fig. 6; and Figs. 9 to 14, inclusive,are diagrams illustrating the dierent positions of the parts during the rotation .of the engine. Throughout these views, like characters refer to like parts.

Upon reference to the drawings, it will be noted that the engine illustrated comprises a `fixed element and a rotary element. The fixed element comprises a spindle 20 mounted on suitable supports 21 and having an off-setor crank portion 22. The supports may be of anysuitable form, and the spindle `'may be secured to them n any suitable way, as by means of set-screws such as 23. The fixed element also includes a cam member 24 suitably secured. to the spindle, as by a key 25. This member also carries an elec.- trical conducting ring 2G. The crank portion 22 also carries a camv member 27. The rotary element includes an outer cylinder 28 made up of a peripheral ring 29 and heads 30 and 31 suitably connected to the ring 29. as by bolts 32. The heads 30 and 31 are provided with bearings 33 and 34, which bear directly upon the spindle 20. The rotary element also includes a hub 35, which is journaled upon the spindle 2O between the heads 30 and 31 and which is connected with the outer cylindrical ring' and with said heads by a vane 36. The cylinder 28, hub 35, and vane 36, rotate as a unit about the spindle 20. In addition the rotary element includes an inner ring or cylinder 37, which Surr ,-nds the hub 35 and is slotted to allow for the passage of the vane 36. A spark plug 3S and a control valve 39 are also.

mounted upon the outer cylinder 28 and rotate with it. The inner ring or cylinder The ring 37 is maintained in this positionby mounting members 40 and 41, which are secured by rods 42 and 413 to longitudinal rods 44 and 45, respectively. These latter rods are connectedjin lturnby rods 46 and 47 to anti-friction rollers 48 and 49, which travel in a cam track 50 located in the face of the cam member 27. n The mounting members 40 and 41 are provided with anti-friction rollers 51 and 52, respectively, which engage grooves 53 in-the opposite ends of the ring 37. The grooves 53 and the camtrack 50 are -concentric and of the same diameter. The mounting members 40 and 41 travel in radial slots 54 and 55 formed in the inner faces'of the heads 30 and 31. At thevends of the slots suitable openings are provided for the to-and-fro pa-ssage ofthe rods 42 and 43.' Byneason of the particular arrangement of mounting members and associated parts, the anti-friction rollers 48 and 51, on the one hand, and 49 and 52, on -the other, always lie in the same straight line, no matter what the operative position of the rotary element of the engine. As the cylinder 28 together with its hubl and vane 36 rotates upon the spindle 20, the inner ring 37 will have sliding engagement with the vane 36 and rolling frictional engagement with the outer surface of the hub 35 and with the inner surface of the ring 29 of the cylinder 28. To prevent leakage at the point of 'engagement of the inner cylinder 37 with the vane 36, I employ the same construction as set forth in my prior application. By such construction the opposite faces of the slot ofthe ring are hollowed out i for the reception of arcuate strips 56 and 57.

Rollers 58 and 59 are located between these strips and the vane. By making the arcuate strips and the vane of hard metal. and the rollers 58 and 59 of relatively soft metal, the latter will be the first to wear away and can be readily replaced whenever necessary or desirable. It will be seen that with this construction the movement of the rollers 58 and 59 toward either end from their midposition will increase the pressure between the vane and the inner cylinder and thereby preventleakage from the primary chamber 60 located within the cylinder 37` and the secondary chamber 61 located between the outer cylinder 28 andthe inner cylinder 37.

In operation, gas or its equivalent is supplied to the primary chamber 60 where it is compressed and then is advanced into the secondary chamber at the rear of the vane to be exploded to advance the vane and its connected parts. Upon the subsequent rotation i of the vane, the products of combustion resulting from such explosion, are expelled from the secondary chamber. The fuel, which may be any of the hydrocarbon fuels commonly employed, is supplied to the primaryl chamber 60 through an inlet passage 62 extending through a portion of the spindle 20, a' chamber or'passage 63 formed in the interior of the hub 35 and a port 64. The passage from the primary chamber 60 to the secondary chamber 61 includes a port 65 opening into the inner cylinder at the forward side ofthe vane adjacent to the hub, a. passage 66 extending from the port 65 through the vane, a-nd passages 67 and 68 formed in the ring 29 of the outer cylinder 28. The passage 66 is controlled by a check valve 69 normally held upon its seat by spring 70, which abuts against a tubular member 71 screwed into the outer end of the vane 36. The passages 67 and 68varel controlled by the valve 39. This latter' valve is tapered to fit a suitable conical bore in the ring 29 of the outer cylinder, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 8. It is cut away at one p oint as indicated at 72 so as to provide for the the valve is in open position, and to cut olf -communication rwhen in closed position.

The operation of the valve lis controlled by a cam groove 73 in the xed member 24, which coperates with a reciprocating rack 74 meshing with a pinion 75 upon the stem of the valve 39. As illustrated particularly in Fig. 2 and in the diagrams of Figs. 9 to 14, inclusive. the valve 39 is open only for approximately one-fourth of each revolution of the engine. The` exhaust passage from the secondary chamber 61 to atmosphere extends through a port 76 in the ring 29 of the outer cylinder 28, a passage 77 in the head 31, and a passage 78'in the spindle 20 to atmosphere. The passages 62 and 78 in the spindle are separated by a solid portion 79. y

As illustrated more particularly in Fig. 2, the circuit for the spark plug 38 is made .and broken upon each revolution of the engine by an angular brush 80 `which. is secured at one end to the upper end of the spark plug 38 and engages at its free end with the insulation 81 upon the contact ring 26, except for the momentary closure with the latter which occurs once per revolution, and which is brought about allowing a portion of the ring 26 to extend through the insulation 81 to provide a contact segment 82. As before indicated, the ring 26 is mounted upon the ixed member 24 and is in electrical connection with a suitable source y of current through the wire 83. The ring return side of the source of current in the usual way.

In the operation of the engine, the rotation of the vane 36 draws fuel'through the passage 62, chamber 63 and port 64 into the l primary chamber 60. It also compresses the -previous cha-rge and advances it upon the y opening of the valve 39 into the secondary The chamber 61 in the rear of the vane 36. The subsequent explosion by the action of the spark plug 38 advances the vane and its connected parts to expel the gases and other products of combustion resulting from the explosion of the previous charge. Various successive positions of the parts are illustrated in Figs. 9 to 14, inclusive. In Fig. 9 the parts are in position for the application of the spark. A fresh charge has been drawn. into the primary chamber 60. A charge under compression is located in the secondary chamber to the rear of the vane 36. The valve 39 has been closed. Upon the application of the spark this compressed charge is exploded and the parts are advanced, moving to the position of Fig. 10. In passing to this position, the vane has eX- pelled some of the products of combustion of the previously exploded charge through the exhaust port 76. The continued movement of the parts brings them to the position of Fig. 11, wherein the products of combustion are practically all discharged and the compression of the charge within the chamber 60 is begun. In the movement' of the parts to the position of-Fig. 12, the products of combustion have all been eX- pelled from the secondary chamber .61,ithe charge in the primary chamber has been partially compressed and part' of a new charge has been drawnin. The valve 39 still remains closed, but is about to be opened through the agency of the rack 74 and pinio-n 75 operated by the cam track 73. A slight advance from the position of Fig. 12

to that of Fig. 13 brings about this opening fresh charge. 1

It will be noted that at the time the charge is exploded the inner ring or cylinder 37, by reason of its engagement with the ring 29 of the outer cylinder 28v and by reason of its engagement with the hub 35 and the mounting members 40 and 41, will maintain the same relative position of eccentricity with reference to the outer cylinder. Likewise, the pressure upon the outer cylinder will be resisted by the 'spindle 20. The vane 36 will alone yield to the pressure of the explosion. It will carry around with it the outer cylinder, and, to a certain extent, the inner cylinder. The latter actsas an abutment at the time of exploding the charge, and, by reason of its engagement with the vane near the spindle, applies the resulting back pressure advantageously. while the pressure Which tends to advance the vane is applied at the outer end of the latter. As the parts rotate, the inner cylinder advances at a slower rate than the outer, but the friction between them is small because of the rolling engagement. The same is true of the engagement of the inner cylinder with the hub. At the time of exploding the charge, the rollers andarcuate strips, associated with the vane and the slot in the inner cylinder, will operate to reduce leakage in the` manner previously ex'- 'plained The rollers will also act to reduce the friction between the parts. Furthermore, the retarding friction of the parts is also reducedby having the moving element mounted directly upon the spindle 20. In this way the movement applied in opposition to the advance of the engine is reduced to a minimum. The distribution of the wearing parts upon thewspindle is also such as to bring about an even wear.

In practising my inventiom it will be apparent that the power generated by the engine may be applied to do useful work in any approved manner, as by gearing or belting. If desired, the latter might be applied directly to the exterior of the outer cylinder 28. Other ways of applying the power will suggest themselves.

lowing the member 27 to rotate, the movement of the anti-friction rollers 48and 49 in the cam traclr'O, willvbe less, and, consequently, the total friction of the member 27 upon the crank 22, when added to the friction of the rollers 48 and 49 in the cam track 50, will be reduced to a minimum.

v It will be apparent that many alterations and modifications may be made in the features of invention covered by the present application without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. I, therefore, do not Wish to be limited to the specific embodiments of the features of the invention, but aim to cover all alterations and modifications of the same which come within the' -spirit vof the invention, and, accordingly,

centric with said inner cylinder, mounting members for said inner cylinder having sliding engagement with the ends of both of said cylinders, and guiding members secured to said mounting members and having operative engagement with said cam.

2. A. rotary internal combustion engine comprising an outer rotatable cylinder, a support for said cylinder, an inner rotatable cylinder eccentrically positioned within said outer cylinder, a cam on said support having a circular cam track concentricwith said inner cylinder, a circular cam4 track on the ends of said inner cylinder of the same diameter as and concentric with the cam track on said support, mounting members for said inner cylinder bearing in its cam track and having radially sliding engagement4 with the ends of said outer cylinder, and guiding members secured to said mounting members and having operative -engagement with the cam track on said support.

3. A rotary internal combustion engine comprising an outer rotatable cylinder, a concentric cylindrical hub, a support `on which said hub is rotatably mounted, an inner eccentric cylinder surrounding said hub and bearing at diametrically opposite points against the inside of said outer cylinder and the outside of said hub, respectively, a vane between said hub and outer cylinder and extending through a slot in said inner cylinder, a cam on said support having a circular cam track concentric With said inner cylinder, a circular cam track on said inner 'cylinderof the same diameter as and concentric with the cam track on said Support, mounting'members for said inner cylinder bearing in its cam track and having radially slidingY engagement with the ends .of said outer cylinder, guiding members secured to said mounting members and having operative engagement with the cani track on said support, passages for supply ing fuel charges to the rear of said vane and means for firing said charges.

4. A` rotary internal combustion engine comprising an` outer rotatable cylinder, a

support for said cylinder, an inner rota-- table cylinder eccentrically positioned within said outer cylinder, mounting members and rods eXtending radially outward from said inner cylinder through openings in said outer cylinder and means for guiding said members and rods during the rotation r comprising a fixed member, an outer casing,

an inner member having an eccentric relation to said fixed member, and means extending through the peripheral walls of said casing for maintaining-said eccentric relation.

In witness whereofl I hereunto subscribe my name this 10th day of April, A. D. 1914.

CHARLES J. CLARK.

Witnesses z HENRY S. SHEDD, ABo'r'r E. KRAY. 

